Despite slump, office holiday bashes aren’t toast

In the best of times, business holiday parties include unfortunate, unflattering, unforgivable and unforgettable incidents.

For instance, who remembers when Darlene from marketing climbed on stage and tried to impersonate Whitney Houston? Or when Bob from distribution was caught chewing out his boss, Jim, before they went back to the bar? And who can forget the sight of Ed from accounting and Lori from sales dirty dancing?

But these are not the best of times, which is changing the holiday party dynamic.

Companies are more hesitant to throw lavish parties while they make staff reductions.

“Companies are still having them,” said Donald Zauner, general manager of the Harbor Links Country Club in Port Washington. “A few got smaller in size, but some of our big parties are still staying large.”

Zauner said parties planned for this year are smaller, though there are more of them.

Others aren’t pulling back at all. Desmond Ryan, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, said he is still throwing the group’s usual $10,000 party at the Huntington Hilton on Dec. 4.

He said the party typically brings together the Island’s biggest movers and shakers.
“It is an eclectic mix,” Ryan said. “It’s a festive event. There is a lot of professional networking.”

He said the event was booked months in advance, the same as many other big Long Island parties.

A number of traditional catering halls on Long Island are offering businesses the chance to hold their parties together. The hall provides the entertainment, the food, the booze and the decorations for these multi-business holiday galas. The businesses buy tables to the party.

“I guess it’s a good thing,” said Helayne Damianos, a Long Island party planner. “It gives everybody a chance to have a real party, a party atmosphere.”

Especially when partying is the last thing on the minds of employees worried about paying the mortgage, much less spending money on holiday gifts.

“I believe that people are cutting back in all different ways,” she said. “Offices are getting smaller; they’re not inviting guests or they’re limiting it to just individual office members.”

At Chateau La Mer in Lindenhurst, companies that participate in cooperative parties pay $50 to $55 per person, as opposed to $70 to $75 if the firm rents the room and spends extra to pay for decorations or entertainment.

“We’ve been doing cooperative parties for maybe 15 years,” owner George Voutsinas said. “They are becoming extremely popular. People are looking to save money. It’s been a logical way to have an event for staff members.”

He said real estate offices, mortgage brokers and construction firms have become the biggest customers for these joint gatherings.

Nationally, the news is grim, with only 81 percent of businesses throwing a holiday celebration, according to a survey done by Manhattan-based Battalia Winston Amrop, an executive search firm. That’s the lowest in the 20-year history of the survey, beating 82 percent in 1991.

As for the booze, you may be out of luck. Only 71 percent of businesses will offer alcohol at their holiday gathering, down from a survey high of 90 percent in 2000.

Domianos said she has seen businesses scale back or remove alcohol from their parties as a reaction to Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi’s Wall of Shame campaign. It’s also a way to eliminate a huge party expense.

Robert Florea, for one, said he’s not ready to skimp on the party. The owner of Melville-based Robert Florea Investment Realty said his company isn’t doing as well as last year.

“If a company isn’t doing as well, they do not have to do as fancy a party, but it is important to show the employees that you have confidence in the company and in them,” Florea said. “Our bookkeeper came to me and asked if we should, instead of going out, have the party in the office and order in. I said no. I appreciate everybody’s trying to cut back where we can, but that’s not necessary.”

On the other hand, Millie Thomas, owner of Wading River’s Landmark Realty, said her company is having a banquet at their new office building. They had a grand opening celebration in September and a second party would be overkill.

“We’re in real estate,” she said. “I don’t have to say anything more.”

Finally, Mark Herbst, executive director of the Long Island Contractors Association, said his industry has been hammered.

“There are going to be drastic layoffs,” he said. “It is not a good time.”

One comment

The leather sandal prices, with one set of straps, start at $42.00. More straps are sold separately, giving the wearer a chance to change the look and style in just a few minutes. Straps alone can be bought starting at $6.00. Liz explained, “Buying online? We have a classic e-commerce web site.” But it’s not all e-commerce. They’ve convinced about 50 stores in the U.S. to carry Sseko Designs sandals.